THAMES VALLEY HOODS
An area group of the RHOCaR club - all things Robin Hood Kit Cars
Homecall - Jeff Marlow - October '04
Saturday 23rd October saw seven of us descend on Jeff Marlow to view his part built wishbone 2B. The weather was awful and tintops ruled the day, not a hood ventured out.
If there were awards for garage comfort, Jeff would be at the top. His 2B is pampered with heating, lighting and carpetting good enough for a bedsit. Plus all the toys a good workshop should have.
We were served snacks and tea brewed up in the garage,! such refinement ! Jeff apologised for having no pinny, ( not a good hoodie accessory, one would have thought !! )
The measure of interest in his car ( as yet unnamed ) meant that the afternoon lasted well beyond football results, there was so much to digest.
The innovative petrol tank, neat handbrake routing, heater and duct layout, seatbelt mountings, smooth under surface, fuel, brake and loom runs, rear battery mounting and cable route, alternator position, oil cooler, slim radiator and fan, air intake and turbo ducting, edge radiussing of the highest standard.
The list is endless, and shows just what can be done with these kits with some creative thinking.
Contact Jeff if you want to know more, I will not reveal all his inginuity here, suffice to say that we were all mighty impressed. ( Is the cheque in the post Jeff ??? )
RHOCaR on the warpath to Imperial War Museum @ Duxford Airfield (John Peach) - Sept 19th 2004.
At the invitation of the Herts, and East Anglia Area Groups of Rhocar, Christine and I set off early on a fine but fresh Sunday morning, heading for Duxford Air Museum in Cambridgeshire. Choosing a route across country, the 2B ran well in the morning cool, with little traffic to hamper our good progress across Bucks and Beds, passing GM Vauxhall and Luton Airport. A planned rendezvous with Pete Ray on the A505 failed, though we arrived at Duxford almost together, if somewhat late, and after the rest had already entered at the party admission rate.
A fine parade of Hoods in the car park glinted in the low sunshine, and attracted a lot of interest. ( Don't you just love it when Joe Public says he knows all about them and then tells you what nice caterhams they are ! ? ! )
The Museum is extensive, and provides a full day of viewing, including Concorde, Vulcan Bomber, a Battle of Britain theme display, Spitfires and Hurricanes, a working restoration hangar
( plenty of room there to build a kit car ! ), the American exhibition including B52 and Stealth and a comprehensive Land Warfare display from WW1 and WW2, including Monty's command caravans. Even pleasure flights in vintage aircraft were on offer, a real living museum, and enhanced by being with Pete recollecting his career in Aerospace. Well worth the visit, and we shall return for another bite on one of the many flight display days.We returned to the car park to find it almost empty, save the voyeurs taking photo's posing by our cars, and the evening drive home was clear as sunset approached, rain threatened but never came, though there were times when it seemed certain to pour. About 160 miles for us, the car ran excellently, and totally comfortable throughout.
Check out the Museum at : The Imperial War Museum
And here's a water colour that was knocked up while the cars waited in the car park :-
Quite a "Constable" eh !
Donington September 2004 - Graham Mintram & John Peach
Donington this year seemed a bit quieter on the Sunday compared to last, turned out the Kit Car demonstration laps were confined to the Saturday, so we probably missed the hectic day ! The journey up to Derbyshire was made in convoy with Peter Ray's 2B and our own (that's if 2 qualifies as a convoy ?) - we passed a quite a few "7" type cars on the way (but none passed us !) - it only took about 45 minutes from Silverstone.
The club areas were strangely and awkwardly set around the Donington stock-pile of imported cars waiting delivery - this made for a clumsy appearance to the place. However - most of the manufacturers were there and a good selection of parts suppliers.
The Hood turn out was excellent - must have been 50 or so on the Sunday at least. I bumped into John Tween from the Stevenage area and he had enjoyed a good nights sleepover - so it is possible - despite the passage of planes overhead from 7am onwards ! Having slept over last year with my lad Spencer - I decided that this year everyone deserved a rest from the snoring (Spencer's that is not mine) !
- Graham Mintram.
John Peach took his camera ......"A couple of pics of Donnington on the Sunday. Thames Valley Members were almost the last to leave ! "
